God Doesn’t Believe Our Convenient Excuses

convenient excuses
Adobe Stock #171573759

Share

Back in another life I was a salesman, and not a very good one at that. I was trained in techniques designed to close the sale quickly and effectively, and—if necessary—against the customer’s will. During these years I learned people don’t always reveal their true reasons for resisting your pitch. If they complained my product didn’t come in red, it meant they thought the price was too high, or they didn’t trust me. Red was simply a convenient excuse. The real issues were almost always price or trust. Other than the benefit of nearly going bankrupt, my salesman days also taught me something about my walk with God. I discovered that I, too, deal in convenient excuses with the Master of the Universe.

My Convenient Excuses

My convenient excuses are usually big picture things: “The church is full of hypocrites,” I protested. It allowed me to remain in isolation.

When I declared, “The Bible is a flawed book,” it gave me an easy way out of navigating the tension between God’s ways and my ways. I was free to take my pick: “God hates women. Or he’s too violent.” I thought they were convenient excuses, but God wasn’t buying them.

Continue Reading...

Ray Hollenbachhttp://studentsofjesus.com
Ray Hollenbach, a Chicagoan, writes about faith and culture. He currently lives in central Kentucky, which is filled with faith and culture. His book "Deeper Change" (and others) is available at Amazon.com

Table of contents

Read more

Latest Articles